Bag to gather, removably secure, and track pills and pill organizers in a compact way

ABSTRACT

A bag that holds pill-organizers within, which together serve as a rolodex of pill organizers, accommodates several pill organizers that are commercially available in the market in an orderly and secure manner. Similar to a rolodex, the pill organizers in the bag can also be removed individually for refilling with pills and rearranged back into the bag easily. The bag is completely or partially lined on the insides or constructed with loop material such that found on one side of a Velcro®. The pill organizers are provided on their under-side with the hook part of the Velcro®. This makes it possible to temporarily fasten the pill organizers along the inside walls of both sides of the bag. The invention, which is the bag with the pill organizers within, can be completely closed to look like a compact carrying case. The invention has additional spaces to provide documentation and other aids for administration of pills. The bag of pill organizers can be easily carried in one&#39;s hand or on the shoulder with a shoulder-strap while on a visit to the doctor or medical professional for a visual examination of pills not yet consumed and any changes in medication. The present invention can also be carried as a travel accessory during a user&#39;s trip such as on a cruise. The invention can have various ornamental designs to serve as identifiers and to cater to the preferences of users. The invention fills the need for a simple tool to organize pills and remove the pain of taking pills even while traveling.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on the Provisional Application Ser. No.60/932,587, filed Jun. 1, 2007.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM, LISTINGCOMPACT DISC APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to bags, the internal surfaces of whichwill have a collection of pill organizers that can be individually andremovably attached to the inside surface of the bags using material soldin strips or pieces that can be glued or sewn to the interior surface ofthe bags, with the complemental part of such adhering strips or piecesglued or molded to the external surface of pill organizers; the bagsinternal surface and the pill organizers' external surface when thusequipped and pressed together will form a utility bag to secure the pillorganizers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Pill organizers are used regularly by a variety of people, whether theyare senior citizens who consume a lot of pills to maintain their health,young individuals who take health supplements, pregnant women and newmothers taking pills such as pre-natal vitamins and other vitamins, ormedical patients who are required to take several pills at regularintervals during the day. Several types of pill organizers arecommercially available to cater to the needs of various pill consumers.Filling up a pill organizer is often a weekly chore for the individualswho are taking the pills or their care providers. It is a tediousprocess; however like any assembly line process once the filling of thepill organizers is started the repetitive action makes it easier to fillseveral weeks' supply of pills where practicable. Pills that arepurchased against a prescription can be orders for several weeks at atime. The pill consumer or care provider ought to be able to completethe chore of several weeks at in a single filling session, therebysaving considerable time and energy due to the efficiency achieved byrepetitive action. The pill consumers or care providers have to oftenface the inconvenience of having to open several bottles of pillsmultiple times a day based on the prescribed dosage, and retain thebottles as long as the prescription lasts. This is inconvenient andprone to costly errors not only at the time of consuming the pills, butalso when the medicine cabinet, rearranging closets, moving thingsaround the house or when traveling. Further, it has been observed thatwhen physicians ask their patients to bring along with them informationon the medications during their visit to the doctor, the patients takeseveral bottles of medicines with them in a highly disorganized manner.This makes it difficult or impossible to check at a glance if thepatient has been taking medicines as prescribed or to assess at a glanceif the pills are ready for reorder with another prescription.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of the present invention toprovide convenience to persons consuming pills as well as any careproviders including physicians helping such pill consumers with theirconsumption of pills to be able to easily gather, secure, store move,carry, open, keep a track of them at a glance, and further, with minimaleffort be able to temporarily detach and re-attach pill organizers ofany shape and form or number, at will for convenience or replacement.The invention prevents clutter in the medicine cabinet; preventswrongful medication or mixing up of medication if an elderly couple hasmedications that look similar, so long as each of the medicine consumersuse separate colors or identifiers on the invention.

For most users, pills and pillboxes are not a pleasant chore to dealwith. Adding mechanical devices or electronic devices make them furtherintimidating. The present invention makes organizing of pillbox a simpleactivity. The present invention makes review of medication taken also asimple visual activity that can be handled competently by any medicallyuntrained person with common counting skills. The present invention alsoemphasizes on simplicity by creating a product of convenience usingclasps and straps and fasteners that are easy to understand and userequiring no special training or learning curve by the end-users. Thepresent invention aims at replacing the clutter in a medicine cabinet tobring more structure and organization in a simple visual manner to thechore of managing and consuming pills from pillboxes day after day. Thepresent invention also helps users to keep their medications and pillsdiscreet in neatly closed presentable bags. The present invention allowsthe user to take all the pills and keep them together in one place,neatly organized. The invention includes the bag which externally ispleasing to the eye can be conveniently carried during travel.

Prior art in this field is replete with examples of organizers thatrequire a lot of administrative skills with calendars and documentation.An example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,237 to Brandon which discloses amonthly calendar with daily panels, requires skills of an accountingclerk and an administrative assistant combined.

Other prior art in this field are not designed for convenience duringlong travel such as a senior citizen's cruise on a ship. An example isU.S. Pat. No. 6,464,506 to Welles which discloses a magnetic panel,containers that are not discreet about the contents or purpose, andcomplicated forms for medication compliance.

The present invention also emphasizes the need of the pill consumers forsome privacy and dignity by covering the pillboxes in a convenient bagthat is discreet and can be carried around like a fashion accessory.This is an emotional need of the pill takers that the prior art does notaddress well. An example is the prior art in U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,085 toDenney that places conventional pill boxes in ribbed open top trays.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This and other objects are provided in accordance with the presentinvention by an aggregate of pill organizers which may be individuallyand removably fastened to the internal surface of a bag by a syntheticmaterial sold in pieces or strips comprising complemental parts whichadhere when pressed together. This is sold under the registeredtrademark VELCRO®, which is manufactured by American VELCRO Inc. ofManchester, N.H.

VELCRO® or the like, is applied by adhesive or sewn-in to bothinside-surfaces of the bag and the outer surface of the pill organizers.This enables the pill organizers to be applied, removed and replaced atwill. The VELCRO® or like material may be sewn in or applied by adhesiveto the inside of the bag in the shape of parallel strips or otherpatterns, or completely covering or partially covering the insidesurface of the bag. The complemental part of the VELCRO® or likematerial will be applied to the pill organizers by adhesive or may bemolded to the surface of the pill box in strips, circles or otherpattern to enable easy removal without compromising on the stability ofthe pill organizer when adhered to the bag after pressing thecomplemental VELCRO® surfaces against one another.

The bag itself may be shaped to adapt and hold any of a number of pillorganizers of different shapes and styles. The bags themselves may beornamental in design and may have a monogram or other decorative item orsymbol attached or sewn in for fashion or identification. The bag maymake a fashion statement as well. The bag may be made of denier nylon orfabric or leather or other synthetic material. The bag may have otherutilitarian items attached as accessories such as planner or other aidsto memory or fashion accessories.

These and other objects, features and advantages will be betterunderstood by a study of the detailed description hereinafter withreference to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an image similar to an open book, with a frontalperspective of the inside panel of the right-side surface of the bag ofthe type contemplated by this invention, and a partial-verticalperspective of the inside surface of the left-side surface of the samebag, with various pill organizers attached to the inside-surfaces byVELCRO® adhesive surfaces on one side of the pill organizers and theinner surfaces of the bag, which has a zipper running along three edgesof the bag to close and secure the several pill organizers. The bagitself has three open edges that act as lips which can be secured bypulling a zipper through its uninterrupted length along all three openedges and the fourth edge that has no opening, acts as the spine.

FIG. 2 shows the diagonal-top view of the invention when the zipper isclosed on the three edges. When closed with the zipper, the inventionhas sufficient volume to cover the depth of any pill organizer. Thisrequires the zipper to be placed on

FIG. 3 shows the invention resting on its spine.

FIG. 4 shows the invention when disassembled, with the inside surfacesof the invention revealing strips made of VELCRO® material or the like.

FIG. 5 shows the pill organizers with the underside bearingcomplementing VELCRO® strips that complement the VELCRO® adhesive orsewn-in inside-surfaces of the bag or other patterns including dots.Complementing VELCRO® may also be molded to the surface of the pillorganizers as an inherent part of the pill organizer itself.

FIG. 6 shows the invention when disassembled, with the inside surfacesof the invention revealing the VELCRO® sewn in to form the insidesurfaces of the invention.

FIG. 7 shows devices for closing the bag other than use of zipperrunning along the three open edges.

FIG. 8 shows how the invention can adapt to different styles and designsof pill organizers.

FIG. 9 shows attachments that can hold relevant additional informationfor the user of the invention such as prescriptions or laminatedmedicine descriptions that usually come along with prescribed medicines.

FIG. 10 shows examples of straps that can be added to the invention tomake them easy to carry around.

FIG. 11 shows how the invention can be further modified to includevarious accessories and allow for carrying other utility items tocombine purposes while organizing the pills.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The preferred embodiment illustrated is not intended to be exhaustive orto limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Rather, it ischosen and described to better explain the principles of the inventionand to enable one having an ordinary skill in the art to utilize theinvention.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a bag which is openon three edges, with the fourth edge being the spine 1. A continuouszipper 2 runs along the three open edges. The bag opens like a book, andhas a left-panel 2 b and a right-panel 2 c. Each angle of the open bookother than the spine 1 has a lip 2 a on the right panel and 2 d on theleft panel, which has a zipper along the rim. When closed, the zipperscome together to result in a flat surface along the three open edges ofthe bag, much like a hardback. The zipper has a grip 4 big enough tocomfortably grip and open or close the bag. Both panels of the bag aredeep enough to accommodate the depth 3 a of the pill organizers 3. Thedrawing in FIG. 1 shows the bag stacked with pill organizers 3 b onebelow the other.

FIG. 2 shows the invention resting on one of its three edges 7 a. Thethree edges 7 a, 7 b, 7 c are flattened to create volume inside the bagwhen closed. The width of the continuous running upper-lip 2 d andlower-lip 2 a along the three edges are equal, as a result of which,when the bag is closed the zipper 6 divides the length of the threeedges equally.

FIG. 3 shows the invention resting on its spine 7 and the zipper grip 6a in position once the bag is closed. The bag can have an exterior ofleather, or it can be a fashion accessory with ornaments attached to it6 b for fashion or identification or personalization with monogram 6 c.The bag will be made of flexible material such as leather, simulatedleather, denier nylon or fabric or other synthetic flexible materialallowing the pill organizers inside to be wedged out for ease of removaland reinstatement, by pushing the outside of the bag with the palm ofone's hand, and touching the pill organizers with one's fingers to tilteach pill organizer and easily pull it out or adjust its positioning onthe VELCRO®.

FIG. 4 shows the invention in FIG. 1 in a disassembled state, when thepill organizers 3 b of FIG. 1 have been removed from the bag. As shownin FIG. 4, the inside panels of the bag reveal strips 9 of VELCRO®material or similar adherent attached to be able to hold the pillorganizers in a removable manner. The VELCRO® may alternatively takeother patterns to adapt to corresponding complementary pieces of VELCROthat will be placed on the pill organizers in such a manner that whenpressed together, they will stay in place inside the bag in stacks onebelow the other, or in any other form that the pill organizers areavailable and fit inside the bag.

FIG. 5 shows the pill organizers detached from the bag. The adherentused is VELCRO or similar synthetic material, allowing for the attachingand detaching of the pill organizers from within the bag, possible withlittle effort. The use of VELCRO or similar material also allows theindividual pill organizers to be detached if just one pill organizerneeds to be removed from the bag at a given point in time. FIG. 5 alsoshows corresponding pieces of VELCRO® on the pill organizers, suchpieces being in the shape of small rectangles 8 exactly the same widthas the strips 9, or may be in the form of small circles or dots 11 onthe underside of the pill organizers. The VELCRO® or similar adherentmay also have one of its two complementing parts molded into the pillorganizers 10 to eliminate the need for aligning the rectangle pieces orthe circular pieces or dots during manufacture. VELCRO® or similaradherent comes with multitudes of semi-open hooks on one complementingside and multitudes of loops or fizzy textured fibers on the othercomplementing side. FIG. 5 also shows a cross section of the pillorganizer 3 with its underside bearing the adhered square shaped pieces8 of VELCRO® or with the VELCRO® or similar adherent molded to thesurface of the pill organizer 10. The pill organizers may come withbuilt-in locking mechanisms to further secure their contents. Thecomponent of the VELCRO® or similar adherent which bears the fuzzytextured fiber will be the one that will be placed on the inside surfaceof the panels 2 b and 2 c of the invention.

FIG. 6 shows that the VELCRO or similar adherent may also be applied orsewn in to encompass the entire area 12 of the inside panels of the bag,thus forming the inside material for the bag, except the inside of thelips 2 a and 2 d and the inside of the spine 1.

Other modifications are shown in FIGS. 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11.

FIG. 7 shows the invention with alternatives to the zippers to securethe bag. A snap or button 13 or other ways to secure the bag can beused. FIG. 7 also shows other alternatives to the zipper can be used tosecure the bag such as two overlapping flaps 13 a and 13 b of VELCRO oneach on each adjacent edges of the outside of the bag can be used withat least one of the flaps originating from the longest open edge of thebag.

FIG. 8 shows the invention with a different style 15 of pill organizersadhered on inside panels, demonstrating that the invention can be usedwith any type of pill organizer and the bag will change in dimension andstyle 14 to accommodate the pill organizer.

FIG. 9 shows the invention with a built-in divider 16 placed between thetwo panels 2 b and 2 c, such divider originating in the inside of thespine 1 of the invention being a transparent sleeve or a cascading setof multiple transparent sleeves to store and display descriptions andprescriptions of all the pills that have been prescribed for the user orall the pills being stored in the invention.

FIG. 10 shows examples of how the bag can have convenient straps 17 forcarrying by hand or on the shoulder.

FIG. 11 shows how the bag may have extra spaces to securely hold otheraccessories such as reading glasses 18, cellular phones 19, pens 20,pencils, note pad, zippered pockets 21 for carrying credit cards, money,medicine bottle labels, prescriptions, contact information and emergencymedical records or codes as well as any radio-frequency identificationchips that contain medical records, other devices to electronically pagethe bag to locate it if misplaced during travel, similar to how onewould locate a telephone handset if one of two are misplaced, or othertransmission or reception devices that help a user connect remotely witha care-provider.

Any other like materials can be substituted by one skilled in the art.While the invention has been described and illustrated in connectionwith preferred embodiments, many variations and modifications as will beevident to those skilled in this art may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, and the invention as setforth in the appended claims is thus not to be limited to the precisedetails of construction set forth above as such variations andmodifications are intended to be included within the scope of theappended claims.

1. A bag with multiple individual pillboxes securely held within, butcapable of separating from the bag easily by simply pulling them apartby hand.
 2. The invention according to claim 1, wherein said bag whichcontains pillboxes opens into two halves, and each half of such bag hasan inside wall built of or equipped with a mechanism of Velcro® or likemechanism to hold firmly but temporarily onto several pillboxes at atime.
 3. The invention according to claim 1 where in each of the saidpillboxes further have their undersides equipped with the opposite kindof fastener allowing for the pillboxes to adhere securely buttemporarily to the inside wall of the invention as explained in claim 2.4. The invention according to claim 1 is further equipped with spacesand pockets to carry medical records and any documentation to assist themedical professional to check on the consumption of pills.
 5. Theinvention according to claim 4 will have the facility to attach variousaccessories to create extra spaces for items of value to the user suchas a place for plane tickets or currency and coins.
 6. The inventionaccording to claim 1 will have a mechanism like a zipper or othereffective fasteners to effectively close and seal the invention in orderto be able to carry the invention around during travel or during a visitto the doctor.
 7. The invention according to claim 1 further has a strapor a handle on the outside to allow user to conveniently carry themaround as a travel accessory.
 8. The invention according to claim 1wherein the bag opens up, further may have only one side with pillboxes,and the other side serving as a place to store any other item or itemsthat can be held by Velcro® or similar compatible fasteners.
 9. Theinvention according to claim 1 is of such capacity that it can store a90-day supply of pills for the serious pill consumer.